North Asia’s factories stuck in decline

Workers unload baskets of coconut kernel at a coconut milk production facility in Chonburi province on April 24, 2023. (Photo: Bloomberg)

JAKARTA: North Asia’s export powerhouses continued to stutter in April amid sluggish global trade and a patchy economic recovery in China, according to new data that amplified concerns about the risk of a global recession.

Factories in South Korea and Taiwan saw activity contract last month, according to surveys published Tuesday by S&P Global. Manufacturing purchasing managers’ indexes for those two economies registered readings of 48.1 and 47.1, respectively — each below the 50-mark that separates expansion from contraction.